


Pillet Creek

by Top o the Morning Laddies (Loki_Likey_Thor_Odinson)



Series: Septiplier Video Game AUs [1]
Category: Don't Starve (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Video Game World, Blood, Blood and Gore, Don't Starve: The Screecher, Established Relationship, Gore, Horror, M/M, Mild Gore, Mild Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-25 15:08:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7537546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loki_Likey_Thor_Odinson/pseuds/Top%20o%20the%20Morning%20Laddies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>It hunts those who stare</em>
</p><p>Jack and Mark just wanted a small two week escape to themselves. No YouTube videos, no family or friends, no grocery shopping or anything else that took them away from each other.</p><p>Visiting the most isolated campground in the state seemed like a good idea.</p><p>But a good idea quickly turns into a nightmare, and Jack and Mark find themselves in a survival game dependent on quick reactions and light.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jack shivered in the cold air of the night, breathing harshly as he huddled in the too-big hoodie he was wearing. The sleeves had been pulled down over his hands, the cold nubs of his fingertips barely able to be felt. The fire that sat four feet in front of him was almost out of kindling, sparkling wildly. He should really get up and put a new one log on the fire, stoke it, or throw some rags onto it, but he was too scared to move.   
  
The dark of the night was closing around him fast, unnerving Jack even more than he already was.   
  
It wasn't the darkness that was unsettling, not the pitch blackness at all.  
  
It was the silence other than the crackling of the fire.   
  
No birds chirped, no crickets cheeped, no bushes rustled.   
  
Jack had woken up alone in the tent, shivering in his thermal sleeping bag, night approaching quickly. Mark had disappeared; he'd been curled up in the man's chest, peaceful.   
  
Tears of fright started welling in Jack's eyes and he got up, his frail body shivering as he made his way to Mark's backpack. His hands delved into the familiar fabric. He hissed in pain at a sharp feeling in his fingertip, and he pulled it out, seeing a small blood droplet on the tip. He sucked at it, pulling a note out the bag with his non-injured hand.   
  
_'Gone to find tour guide or call the helicopter. I think we should go home; something here just doesn't feel right. I should be back before you're awake. I left the spare flashlight for you just in case I'm not. Markimoo x'_  
  
Jack's hand delved back inside the bag, finding the cold handle of a flashlight; flicking it on he pulled it out. The wide beam shone around the clearing he and Mark had set up camp with, feeling himself getting more and more on edge as the seconds went by.   
  
"Mark?"  
  
Jack flinched at the sound of his voice in the clearing, small, loud and disturbing the silence that surrounded him.   
  
A screech startled the silence and Jack jumped out of his skin, making him cry out. The tears started falling down his face, and he spun around. The torch swung wildly, casting dark shadows as the wide beam shone around.   
  
The bushes in front of Jack started shaking, much too violent to be the wind. Heart beating in his mouth, Jack took a few steps backwards, barely able to breathe, trying his best to keep his torch beam shining directly onto the bushes in front of him.   
  
The rustling got closer, closer, closer and Jack's heart almost pounded out of his chest. In a few seconds, whatever it was would be on top of him.   
  
Jack braced himself...  
  
...and let out a scream as something grabbed his shoulder from behind.   
  
"Get the light on me!"  
  
Jack swung around, the heavy handle of the torch hitting someone around the face, and the Irishman blinked, taking in the sight around him.   
  
Mark was holding a bleeding nose, bent over in pain.   
  
"Mark..?"  
  
"We have to get out of here, Jack; _now_."  
  
The smaller male frowned as Mark stood up to his full height, licking his lips. There was a crazed look in his eyes; desperation screaming out of the irises.   
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"People are dead, Jack. The Brazilian couple we came in with? Dead. There was blood everywhere. I can't find anyone else; it would be _great_ if we could find the tour guide for god’s sake – but we need to get to the helipad _now_ and call for help."

Jack didn’t take any words in after _people are dead_ ; he just stood there, blinking at Mark in the dim light of the fire and the torch, his face completely blank.  
  
“Jack? _Jack_ , did you hear me?”  
  
“P-People are dead?”  
  
Mark flicked his hand out, and Jack watched drops of blood land in the dusty soil around, disturbing the earth. Small pockets of dust flickered upwards, drifting in the light breeze, glinting in the fire light.  
  
“Yes, Jack, people are dead; and we need to get to the helipad as soon as possible.”  
  
Jack inhaled slowly through his nose and slowly out of his mouth. “We- we need to go.” The words left his mouth but for some reason, he couldn’t move his feet.  
  
Silence fell between them, other than the leaves rustling in the wind and the fire beside them cracking. Mark stepped forward, his arms wrapping around Jack's waist. Their lips pressed together momentarily, and Jack could taste the iron of Mark’s blood, still slowly dripping from his nose before they broke apart.  
  
“Now; we need to go, now.”  
  
Mark’s hand wrapped around Jack’s wrist and they started rushing down the path.  
  
Jack glanced around – the scenic woods now seemed like a place of terror; anything could be lurking in the trees – whatever killed the Brazilian couple could be lurking, just out of the torch’s reach...  
  
Tears of fright began bubbling in Jack’s eyes, and he had to take a deep breath before he forced his feet to stumble on. His hand twisted, moving Mark’s so he could grasp his boyfriend’s hand.  
  
Jack realised that they were sweaty, and he wondered if Mark was as scared as Jack was.  
  
“I feel like something’s watching us.”  
  
“Jack, not to alarm you, but there probably is – now come on. We’ve got to _go_.”  
  
Silence fell between them, the air around them filled with the sound of their scuffling feet. Jack tried to focus on Mark, on the way his shoulders were slightly stiff, the way his jaw was set, the way his eyes were flickering around...  
  
Jack realised he was terrified; he stopped focusing on Mark, and instead, on the ground at his feet.  
  
Mark stopped abruptly and Jack jerked to a stop, almost running into his back. Carefully, he shuffled around to Mark’s side, ears straining to hear a possible reason why Mark might have stopped.  
  
The sound of crying filtered through the air and Jack found himself standing behind Mark again. “S-Should we see what it is?”  
  
Mark didn’t answer for a few seconds, completely stock still before he carefully shone the torch in the surrounding areas. The light revealed a young woman, curled up in on herself, rocking on the balls of her feet. Her sobs shook her body, and she seemed to be clinging to her knees – Jack noted it was if her life depended on it. Her white backpack sat by her side, the straps hanging uselessly as she sat where she was.  
  
Mark dropped Jack’s hand and cautiously took a few steps forward. Jack found he was uncomfortable with the space between them.  
  
“Ma’am? Ma’am are you-”  
  
A scream came from the woman’s throat and she was on her feet in a matter of seconds. Jack recognised her from the helicopter ride on the way to the creek.  
  
“GET THAT LIGHT AWAY FROM ME!”  
  
Mark flinched back as she disappeared into the trees, stumbling into Jack. The two men clung to each other for a moment, and Jack had to remember to breathe.  
  
“M-Mark?”  
  
The torch light flickered around them, extinguishing for a moment before bathing the path the woman had taken in light once more.  
  
“Check her bag.”  
  
Mark looked around at Jack, an eyebrow raised.  
  
“Check her bag! There might be more batteries in there. I don’t fancy walking through this place at night with a murderer on the loose, Mark, you might, but I _don’t_.”  
  
The elder male hesitated for a moment before he made his way over to her backpack, kneeling down to snap it open. Jack moved forward to grab the torch, holding it towards the backpack.  
  
The hairs on the back of Jack’s neck bristled, goose bumps running across his arms and down his back, and he shivered. He was pretty sure it wasn’t just the cold January air that was setting the chill in his bones.  
  
“No batteries – but there’s a note in here.”  
  
Jack leaned over Mark’s shoulder to read.  
  
_January 9 th – the helicopter just dropped us off. This place is amazing and the tour guide seems really nice. It is so peaceful out hear, no one around for miles._  
  
“Whoever wrote it spelt here wrong.”  
  
“Is that really the problem you’re focusing on right now? We could die at any moment, and you’re correcting grammar?”  
  
Jack shrugged; the gesture was barely able to be seen in the dim light and Mark sighed, putting the note in his pocket as he stood up. They shared a look and Mark leant in for a quick kiss, making Jack’s heart skip a beat before he stepped away.  
  
“I wanna stick to the path.”  
  
“Believe me, Jack; I wasn’t planning on going anywhere else.”  
  
Pausing for just a few more moments, the two men carried on, walking as close to each other as they dared.  
  
The bushes seemed to rustle more in the darkness surrounding them; yet the wind hadn’t picked up at all. It made Jack all the more nervous.  
  
The next camp wasn’t too far away; Jack remembered that much when they were walking to their own campsite – the one furthest away from everyone else and the one furthest away from the helipad. Realising now what a horrible idea that was, Jack snorted.  
  
Hindsight truly was a wonderful thing.  
  
The tent of the next camp site seemed to loom in the light in front of them and Mark’s footsteps slowed. Quietly, they approached the camp site, walking in sync.  
  
One of the campers was in a camping chair, rocking gently with the breeze. Jack glanced up at Mark, seeing how he was frowning.  
  
“Stay here… If something comes out the tent, run.”  
  
Jack was about to ask what might come out the tent, but Mark was already walking towards the man in the chair, and Jack felt the unease curling in his stomach once more.  
  
“Sir?”  
  
No answer came and Mark slowly reached out a hand to shake his shoulder.  
  
His head fell back and a scream escaped Jack’s throat. He fell back into the dirt, scrambling backwards as quickly as he could. He turned onto his knees, gagging; the small amount he had eaten for dinner came back up.  
  
There was no face where there should be one. Bone seemed to glow in the torch light, dark red spots of blood still drying against the white. The jaw was slack, open completely, as though the man had been in the middle of a scream as he was killed.  
  
The light disappeared off of the body, shining in Jack’s eyes. There was the sound of feet pounding on pressed earth and then Mark was crouching in front of him.  
  
“Jack-”  
  
“I just want to get out of here. Now.” Jack rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand, breathing heavily as he collapsed to sit down.  
  
Mark nodded and offered his hand to Jack, helping the younger man off the ground. Carefully, Mark shone the torch in a long arc, in the direction opposite the body to carefully point at the camping ground. Jack could just see the man in the corner of his eye. A shudder went through him and Mark hurried him through to the bag that sat just beyond.  
  
Jack was the one to go through it this time, unearthing a note and a battery. Handing the battery to Mark, Jack turned his attention to the note.  
  
_January 12 th – something rummaged our camp last night. Things are getting weird; I haven’t seen the Brazilian couple in days. It’s so cold; Bill is trying to fix the generator._  
  
Silence fell heavy between them once more and Jack sighed before standing up. “What the hell is going on?”  
  
“I have no idea, but I know that I just want to get to the helipad and get home.”  
  
“Yeah,” Jack gave a bitter laugh. “I second that.”  
  
Silently they continued walking, their hands clutching in the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Hours seemed to pass before another campsite came into view.  
  
Mark almost immediately dropped Jack’s hand to jog ahead, dropping to his knees in front of a garbage bag. Cursing, he rushed towards a backpack, only to freeze when the torch light flickered again, going out for a few seconds before the light shone through the black night.  
  
Jack rushed to his side, glancing around nervously.  
  
Mark was already rummaging through the backpack, and he cursed again before standing. No batteries were in his hand, but Jack saw the leaflet he was hold.  
  
_Pillet Creek map – the most isolated campground in the state_  
  
“At least the map is useful?”  
  
Mark nodded and quickly opened it, studying it in the dim light that the torch gave them.  
  
“There’s a campsite down that route, the one without the helipad sign pointing the way, if you want to go down there; maybe see if there’s someone there? Or maybe they might have some more batteries?”  
  
Jack glanced back the way they came, the image of the man’s body filling his mind for a moment. Then he thought about the woman they had encountered, how scared she had been – what if someone like her was up there? Lost and scared?  
  
Sighing, Jack nodded. “Let’s go check for survivors.”  
  
Both men flinched at the word, looking down at the ground for a moment. It sunk in – they were survivors, survivors of a mini massacre, of some kind of murderous streak.  
  
Or at least – they were for now.  
  
Silently, they continued away from the helipad and Jack had the overwhelming feeling of vulnerability, as though they were walking away from safety. Eyes were on him, and his skin began to crawl. He desperately wanted Mark to say something, to make him feel more secure in their current situation, but he knew any talking could potentially lure whatever was hunting the campers down right to them.  
  
Unless the feeling of being watched meant that they were already stalking the two men through the forest – but why would they not attack already?  
  
Why were they still alive if this murderer was stalking them through the trees already?  
  
Unless – they were waiting for Jack and Mark to reach the helipad, to think they were safe before they came at them, slaughtering them where they stood.  
  
Tears welled up in Jack’s eyes and he clung tighter to Mark’s hand, trying desperately to control his feelings.  
  
Thankfully – the campsite appeared within the flickering torch beam and the distraction was welcome. They stopped at the edge, peering around the darkness before Mark cleared his throat.  
  
“Is anyone here?”  
  
Wind whipped around them, the rustle of trees and bushes giving them their answer.  
  
They were alone here.  
  
Jack hurried over to a small bag that was sitting a little way away, going through it as quickly as he dared.  
  
A sharp pain rushed through one of his fingers and he pulled his hand out, cursing under his breath. He sucked the blood welling in the paper cut and grabbed hold of the piece of paper.  
  
_DON’T LOOK AT IT!  
  
_ Fear coiled around his stomach, and he looked up at Mark who had come to stand by his side. The confusion and horror on the elder man’s face told Jack he had read the note over his shoulder.  
  
“Don’t look at what?”  
  
Mark shrugged and cast his eyes around, spinning the torch beam around the area they were in. “I don’t know, but I don’t think I want to stay around to find out.”  
  
Jack nodded and dropped the note on the ground, trying to ignore the red writing that was turning brown in some places. He swallowed and his hand clutched to Mark’s once more and they started off again.  
  
Their pace had increased – a silent agreement they had made without having to speak.  
  
The woods seemed to be closing in around them, making Jack feel like he was suffocating. He felt like he needed to claw at his chest, to yank his hoodie and shirt off and free his lungs of their constraints – but he knew there were no constraints.  
  
Closing his eyes, he just wished this nightmare would be over.  
  
They had taken the time off their channels for an escape. They wanted some alone time, away from the internet; just them. They wanted to reconnect – they hadn’t had much chance to see each other, not with their hectic upload schedules, family, and friends. This was meant to be two weeks just for them. Them and them alone – time to laugh and be happy. It was supposed to be time to learn more about each other that they didn’t already know.  
  
Now it had turned into a horror game they both might play; only this one didn’t have an end screen.  
  
Jack bumped into Mark as he stopped, and the smaller man looked up with wide eyes, clearing his throat. Mark dropped Jack’s hand, heading towards a small sack on the ground.   
  
Without Mark close to him, Jack felt like a child. The goose bumps got worse and Jack shivered in the too-big hoodie that engulfed him.  
  
“Found another note.”  
  
Jack scurried over; shoulders hunched against the feeling of someone breathing down his neck.  
  
_January 14_ th – Bill went looking for the Brazilian couple; he still hasn’t come back. I’m getting really scared. There’s something out there in the woods. We need to get out of here. I must find the guide.  
  
“Something? Not someone?”  
  
“Maybe it’s some kind of wolf or bear?”  
  
“We would have heard noises to indicate that. We haven’t heard anything other than rustling bushes. And wolves travel in packs – we’d have been taken down long before now.”  
  
Mark sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Jack noticed how the red seemed to glow under the moonlight, and he reached out to run a few strands through his fingers. Mark flinched, but he didn’t move away.  
  
Jack appreciated that.  
  
“We need to get to the helipad. Now.”  
  
“You’re the one that keeps taking us on diversions, Mark.”  
  
“And now I’m the one saying we need to get our asses to that helipad before whatever is in the trees kills us.”  
  
“I think I can be on board with that.”  
  
Mark stood, glancing around at the trees with the light that the torch gave them before he turned to Jack. The younger man was taken aback by the sudden kiss, Mark’s arm around his waist, tightly; his lips moving hard and fast.  
  
Jack realized that it was a desperate kiss and tears welled in his eyes. He reached up to wrap his hands around the back of Mark’s neck, desperate himself to keep the kiss going. He didn’t want to break apart; here, he could lose himself in Mark – anything other than Mark was danger, that’s all he knew right now.  
  
Alas, end it did and Jack found himself buried in Mark’s chest, shaking.   
  
“We’re gonna be okay, Jack; we’ve got this. We’ve got this. We’re gonna go to the helipad, the helicopter will get here quick enough, and then we can go home. We can take a nice hot shower together, have a good meal – maybe some pizza – and then we can cuddle in bed with Chica and fall asleep and laugh at this entire ordeal. Sound good?”  
  
Jack nodded against Mark’s chest and took a breath to compose himself before he stood back.  
  
In silence once more, the couple continued down the paths, rushing now, desperate to find the safety of the helipad.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack was jerked out of his peaceful mind set – the little world of _okay_ he had made in his head as Mark pulled his hand free, running forwards. Panic took over Jack’s mind for a moment before he realized that Mark was only running towards a camp site.  
  
Their light had been flickered on and off for the past twenty minutes; they needed a new battery or they’d never get to the helipad. Trying to navigate these woods in the dark was not something that Jack wanted to try.  
  
Jack was snapped back to reality by Mark stumbling backwards, retching. He raised an eyebrow, slowly walking forwards before the smell hit him, and Jack leant forward, gagging.   
  
“There’s something rotting in that garbage bag.”  
  
“Yea; I can smell it.”  
  
Mark took a moment before he walked towards a utility box on the floor, rummaging through it.  
  
The torch light disappeared and Jack froze before it came back shortly after.  
  
“Found a battery. Hopefully, this one has more power than the one I just removed.”  
  
Jack nodded and pulled the map out of his hoodie pocket, studying it. “If we go left from where we are now and follow that path, it takes us in the direction of the helipad and there’s also another campsite there where other people might be.”  
  
Mark nodded and they set off to the left, scuffing pockets of dust and earth up from the path as their feet scraped.  
  
Everything had stopped. Everything had gone completely silent.   
  
It was almost as if there was a bubble around the campground, shutting everything out – and everything _in_.  
  
Jack wasn’t sure which the more terrifying idea was.  
  
Shaking his head to rid himself of the thoughts threatening to send him into panic mode, Jack looked forward, eyes on the camp ground starting to loom into focus in the light of the torch.  
  
Both Mark and Jack froze when they saw the box on the floor, blood splattered across it and on the floor around it. Jack’s blood ran cold. Mark’s hands started to shake, the torch light casting long shadows around the site.  
  
“M-Mark?”  
  
“Stay here.”  
  
Slowly, Mark headed towards the box on the ground, his hand unlocking it and opening it quickly.   
  
Inside held nothing but a note, and he pulled it out with a shaking hand.  
  
_IT HUNTS THOSE WHO STARE  
  
_ Jack went to walk towards Mark as he read the letter out loud, only to freeze when a scream went up into the air. Mark stood quickly, light shining around the clearing where they were stood.  
  
The light stuttered and then stopped on the source of the scream.   
  
A woman was limp in a man’s arms, being held off the ground by his strength, and he was bent over her. At first, Jack thought he might be giving her a kiss, the situation didn’t occur to him; and then it looked at them both and Jack yelled, stumbling backwards and closing his eyes.  
  
It’s face loomed in his mind – a paper bag on his head that looked like it was made of feathers, matted with dark stickiness, more than likely blood. Piercing yellow eyes seemed to stare down into his soul, and Jack was thankful when he felt the familiar hand of Mark wrapping around his wrist.  
  
His eyes snapped open and they ran; in the direction they had come, breathing erratically as their feet fell onto the hard earth.  
  
Jack shook his head and stopped, tugging on Mark’s arm. “It hunts those who stare. We didn’t stare at it… did we?”  
  
Mark stopped, barely able to pant words out between breaths. “I-I don’t think we did?”  
  
“We have to go back.”  
  
“You want to go past that thing?”  
  
“It’s the only way to the helipad, Mark. If we don’t we’re lost out here until day time and I don’t fancy running around in the dark with that thing out here.”  
  
Mark hesitated before sighing heavily and nodding. “You’re right, you’re right. What if it’s still there?”  
  
“Maybe if we turn our heads away from it, it’ll leave us alone? If it hunts those who stare, but we don’t stare at it, then we should hopefully be fine.”  
  
Mark nodded and rubbed his left temple before leaning in for a quick kiss. “You’re right, you’re right. We have to risk it or we are going to be stuck here until 5am. I don’t fancy being out here for five more hours.”  
  
They nodded at each other and took a breather before they turned back, slowly walking down the path they had just run from.  
  
The woman was lying on her side, hands behind her back, legs bent. She could have been sleeping – if it weren’t for the large blood pool that surrounded her and the fact that her face was missing.  
  
It took Jack a moment to keep the bile in his stomach and he turned away.   
  
“Is it gone?”  
  
“I think so…”  
  
They hurried past the woman’s body, breathing heavily. Jack clung to Mark, his eyes closed, and they started walking, only for Mark to turn the light off quickly. Not quick enough for Jack to see the yellow piercing eyes through the darkness.  
  
They froze for a moment before Mark dared to turn it back on, guiding them through the darkness, away from the place it had just been stood in. They walked quickly, following the paths top the helipad – they didn’t care anymore. They didn’t care if there were other survivors stuck at a campground. They just wanted out.  
  
They just wanted to go _home_.


	4. Chapter 4

Pools of blood loomed into existence in the torch beam and Jack felt sick. He had to fight to not lean over and cough up for a moment.  
  
Mark gripped hold of his wrist as the view got worse. The Brazilian couple loomed into view, their skulls on show, blood surrounding them, drying under the moonlight. Quickly, they passed through, not bothering to check the fanny packs by them.  
  
The helipad was close and they knew it. They could smell the gasoline on the air, the fuel the helicopter used to refuel. Jack had seen the canisters there when they landed – the guide had said that it was there in case of an emergency; if the helicopter had to dump fuel on the route or something along those lines.  
  
Walking quicker now, they hurried past the Brazilian couple, only to falter and stop at the sight of the tour guide dead on the ground by his things. The blood splatter covered a large amount of ground, glistening away in the torch light.  
  
Mark almost ran towards the guide’s things on the ground, not too far away from his body and immediately started searching his things for anything that might be helpful. He pulled a piece of paper out and Jack watched Mark’s shoulders sag.  
  
“There were so many people here… Eleven, not including the tour guide… twelve people, ten of them dead. We’re the only people… Jack I think we’re the only survivors of this.”  
  
Jack shuddered and tried to curl up in his hoodie as much as he could, breaths coming out heavy. Tears pricked in his eyes and he stared at his feet on the ground, licking his lips nervously. “We have to tell someone when we get back.”  
  
“I know.”  
  
Mark put the piece of paper in his pocket and moved to a box on the ground next to the bag, ruffling through it.  
  
“Emergency frequency, 1640.4AM; looks like we can go home, Jack.”  
  
“Let’s find a radio and go, because I can’t stand being here anymore. I just want a shower and I want to go to bed. I just want to get away from this fucking creek.”  
  
Mark stood and they rushed on down the path, hands clutching each other as they did so. Jack tripped on a stone, but managed to keep on his feet, stumbling along the path.  
  
“Just gotta stick to the path, and then we’ll be there, right?”  
  
“That’s the idea- oh shit.”  
  
The path closed off, becoming a thicket of tall grass – grass tall enough for something to hide in should it feel like it.  
  
Jack pulled his hand free from Mark’s, scrambling for the map in his pocket. Mark shone the torch on the leaflet in hand, and Jack groaned. “It’s that way, through the mini thicket.”  
  
They glanced at each other, then the thicket and then they sighed and hurried through the grass. It whipped at their faces, at Mark’s uncovered arms, and small brambles stuck to them, making them wince.  
  
Jack yelled as It appeared in front of them, and Mark swung the torch around wildly, grabbing Jack as they veered off to the right, breathing heavily. Mark shone the torch around, desperate for any kind of hope that they were close, thanking God when he saw the radio, about seven steps away.  
  
They hurried over and Jack dropped to his knees in front of it, deseperately tuning the radio to the emergency frequency.  
  
At first, nothing happened, and then a voice crackled through and Jack sent a thank you to every God he knew of.  
  
“We thought you were dead, Bill. We’ll come get you. Turn on the beacon with the generator.”  
  
Mark grabbed Jack’s hand and they rushed forward, almost tripping over one of the landing lights as they ran. Mark wildly swung the torch back and forth, looking around for anything that could even be a generator, and he saw it.  
  
He dropped Jack’s hand, handed him the torch and sprinted towards it, trying his best not to panic. He pulled the cord once, and nothing happened. A second time had it sputter, but die and Mark yelled.  
  
“START GODDAMNIT, JUST START!”  
  
The third pull had it spring to life, whirring away and the landing lights switched on, bathing everything around them in a red light. Jack dropped the torch and collapsed to his knees, tears pouring down his face.  
  
Mark smiled weakly, panting a little as he leant forward to rest his hands on his thighs.  
  
The sound of the helicopter could already be heard in the distance – they had done it, they had managed to survive whatever that thing in the woods was.  
  
Mark started laughing and Jack joined in, Mark moving to collapse next to Jack on the tarmac, eyes in the air, waiting for the helicopter to fly into view.  
  
“I can’t wait to get home.”  
  
“Mm, neither can I.”  
  
Jack looked up at Mark and smiled softly, leaning in for a kiss, only to jerk back as lights smashed all around them, plummeting them into darkness. They clung to each other, slowly rising to their feet, looking around.  
  
Mark knelt, groping around for the torch, finally finding it coming to hand. He flicked the switch up, only to find that it wouldn’t go on and Jack cursed himself for dropping it.  
  
The silence around them seemed to get tighter and then the lights came back on and Jack screamed as Things all around them got closer.  
  
Jack saw a hand close around Mark’s arm, watching him get dragged forward and then Things were all around Jack, blocking his view of everything and anything.  
  
He fell and then, there was nothing but black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who actually read this story!
> 
> If you haven’t then please go and watch Mark and Jack’s play throughs of The Screecher! It’s my favourite horror game that they’ve both played and I was watching Mark’s when I had the idea for this so.
> 
> I’ll be back with more video game aus! 
> 
> I have another cutesy, modern, non-video game au one shot if you want to check that out!
> 
> I also take requests over on tumblr! [i-look-so-good-in-blue.tumblr.com]
> 
> Thank you _very_ much for a warm welcome to the Septiplier fan fiction fandom and I hope I’ll be able to produce more quality content for you all in the months to come!

**Author's Note:**

> I take requests over on tumblr! [i-look-so-good-in-blue.tumblr.com]


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